DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) — The Childhood Cancer Awareness Group of Coffee County will hold its annual silent and live auctions this weekend, with donations still being accepted through Thursday, Sept. 24.

The silent auction is set for Friday, Sept. 25, running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bidders can walk in throughout the day, review labeled items, and record their bid number and amount on sheets next to each item. The highest bidder at the end of the day will be contacted to pick up the item.

The live auction follows Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Central Square Gym. A meal will be served at 5:30 p.m., available for purchase in advance or at the door. Bidders will again receive a number, and the highest bidder on each item will take it home that night.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The group has held the auctions every year since it was founded in 2011, with the exception of the year affected by COVID-19 and a year interrupted by Hurricane Helene.

Auction items include toys, hunting equipment (including guns and knives), pots and appliances, baskets, cakes and pies, and gift certificates donated by area businesses and organizations.

A family’s story

Tamara Morgan, secretary of the Childhood Cancer Awareness Group of Coffee County, said her son, Ashton Jordan Morgan, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer, when he was two and a half years old.

Morgan said Ashton began showing symptoms of headaches, vomiting, and lethargy. After several doctor visits, Dr. Keith Childers found a cyst about the size of an egg on top of Ashton’s spinal cord, at the base of his brain, and referred the family to Scottish Rite in Atlanta the same day.

Morgan said the family spent about two years in and out of Scottish Rite for surgery and chemotherapy. She said her husband, Terry, stayed with Ashton full time because he worked with a family business, while she continued working with the Coffee County School System.

Morgan said the family went from a two-income household to a one-income household during treatment, and the Childhood Cancer Awareness Group of Coffee County provided support, including prayer, gas cards, and financial resources to help with bills.

Morgan said doctors told the family Ashton was expected to live three to six months after his cancer returned and sent them home to plan his funeral. She said the family chose to pray and fast instead. Ashton made a wish through Make-A-Wish for a baseball field with a slide, which the organization and community members helped build. Morgan named David Lindsey, Suzanne Ray, and Heather Day among community members who helped collect donated banners from churches, businesses, and organizations to cover the field.

Morgan said Ashton has been cancer-free for nearly 10 years as of this past July. She said he is now a 10th grader and plays football at Atkinson County High School.

A board member’s story

Kirk Farrar, a board member of the Childhood Cancer Awareness Group of Coffee County who also works as an attorney, said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 24. He said he found a tumor in his chest after experiencing difficulty breathing and weight loss.

Farrar said he was told he had roughly a 50-50 chance of survival at the time. He said he has been healthy for 30 years now since treatment.

Farrar said he became involved with the organization through Barbara Dockery, one of its founding members and his former secretary, whose daughter, Lisa, was also affected by cancer. Farrar helped form the corporation and served as board chairman for about 10 years before becoming a board member.

Serving the community

Farrar and Morgan said the organization serves children from birth to age 21, typically supporting between seven and 12 active cases at a time. Farrar estimated the group has served more than 100 children since 2011, including 16 children who have died from cancer since the organization’s founding. The group honors those children with banners at its auctions.

The organization serves Coffee County and surrounding counties. Farrar said the group tries to approach families gently when it learns of a diagnosis, so they know help is available without having to ask.

Farrar and Morgan said the organization is run entirely by volunteers, including board members, and that no one draws a salary from the group.

Donations for the auction will be accepted through Thursday.

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